A level PE

Just wondering what people think of the course, is it worthwhile, interesting, etc. Im thinking of taking it, because i have 3 'hard' subjects but would still like to carry on with PE, just wondered if it was any good at a level? cheers

Reply 1

Sophie3

I wouldn't bother with it tbh. My friend did it and said it was as respected on his UCAS form as a piece of toilet paper. Do another 'hard' subject like Chemistry or something.

Reply 2

Jon7

8

In all honesty, I doubt any Uni's take it seriously (unless you *are* taking a sports course). All that time during PE A level, you could instead just work out or just play sports you know, and there's no exams! :wink:

Reply 3

Biscuit90

7

If you enjoy it.. take it at a level! My best friend took pe - I personally wouldn't say its a 'soft' subject.. it has physics, biology and physcology in it. As you said, you already have 3 'hard' subjects, so taking a 'soft' subject wont harm you. As for the course, my friend really enjoyed it - about 10% of her grade was pratical, the rest theory (krebs cycle, projectiles, sport in the USA/France - of what I can remember her talking about.)

I always think its best to do something you like, I mean I would hate to spend a year or two doing a subject I dislike, you will always get a better mark in a subject you like. As for the course outline, look at the spec on the exam board website.

As for it being seen as a 'piece of toilet paper' - my friend is going to Edingburgh - which is a top uni!

Reply 4

amanda_p27

Well! I will let you know if i get into uni to see if it really is that bad.

LOVED pe and like you i took it as a 'softer' subject to go alongside maths, physics and geog. BY the end of AS year i hated geography so have dropped that and am applying to physics courses, yes physics courses, with PE as one of my subjects. haha.

All the uni's I have looked at i have asked how vital it is as third subject (as a fourth at AS its no problem at all unless you're the oxbridge type) and they all said 3rd subject doesn't matter (they would do though wouldn't they). Depends what you want to do aswell.

do it anyway!!!! PE is a god

Reply 5

DJ123

I did as level PE it's a hard subject in its own right but it isn't considered much in the outside world, unless you want to do anything sport related. If you want to something different I would recommend it but don't waste your time.

Reply 6

Plato123

11

What subject do you want to study at University (if any)?

Reply 7

T kay

3

I've just finished AS P.E and thought it was really interesting and enjoyable.

I was with edexcel so one exam was sciency where I had to know about anatomy, physiology, training methods etc and one module was about the social aspect and impact of sport so I did things like sport before 1800, the effects of industrialisation and public schools on sport, to more modern things like sport in schools, UK Sport, Sport For All etc. I also had to write an essay on a issue in the olympics such as commercialism, race, women etc.

That's pretty much the content of a P.E course. My course was 20% practical and 20% courseworks. It was by no means easy but not very difficult compared to subjects like maths or biology.

If your interested in sport then yeah it'll be good. But don't take just so you can play sport, it's only 20% practical so doing well in the exams is the most important thing.

Reply 8

Wat:Shark:Where

OP

2

Plato123

What subject do you want to study at University (if any)?

cheers everyone, im probably thinking geography/biology/sport sorta thing (im still a tad undecided if you didn't guess :wink:

but yeah that sort of area.

Reply 9

one2three_abc

15

PE would be pretty useless in applying to do geography or biology.
However for something like Sports Science, you'd think it'd be seen as acceptable.

Reply 10

jenny90

6

I've just finished PE A2 and i loved it :smile:

I only intended to take it at AS because i enjoyed it at GCSE but when i did badly at maths at AS i had to drop that and contiune with PE.

The course itself is not easy at all! Lots of my friends who are fairly intelligent got Bs this year. There's a massive science paper at AS which is the same content as AS biology. There's also a physics paper option. The synoptic paper is basically a large essay too. Deffo don't take it if you think it's guna be an easy option!

I'm starting a law degree in Sept and no unis have minded me having PE as an a level at all. I think oxford/cambridge probably wouldn't accept it but as long as you're taking PE with other subjects you'll be fine at most places :smile:

If u have any questions feel free to send me a message!

Reply 11

jenny90

6

T kay

If your interested in sport then yeah it'll be good. But don't take just so you can play sport, it's only 20% practical so doing well in the exams is the most important thing.

At our college we didn't have any practical lessons at all. The only practical work we ever did was the assessment and it was done in your free time! They occasionally used practical examples for theory but not very often. I loved the theory stuff though! We did Pschology, skill aqusition, history of sport, contemporary studies in sport, anatomy and phsiology, exercise physiology and a synoptic paper.

Reply 12

nbrown7

ok.. i did A level sports studies economics and geography.. my UMS for economics was 550 geography 555 but sports studies was 491.. the papers in all honesty were easy.. BUT.. to get the highest marks it was actually harder than my other subjects. I would certainly not recommend a chemistry or biology as previously mentioned. For its difficulty at the highest level it is not given enough credit

Reply 13

baxbya

A level PE is accepted by unis - if you're wanting to do an unrelated degree e.g. geography, so long as you're doing A Level geog then PE is just a stepping stone to get the grades to get you to uni - so if you know you'll do well at it do it. Trust me - I teach it!

Reply 14

ducky21

I did PE for gcse and loved it :smile:

And now I'm currently taking bio, chem, english and pe at AS. And I have been given the most work from my PE teachers, most of my time has been taken up by PE.
I wouldn't say it is the hardest subject, but it is no way easy. It involves a lot more than people think - physiology, skill skill acquisition, sociology and then there is the practical side to it too. A lot of Biology is involved and physics is combined into the subject as well. I love it though :smile:

So, if you are good at a sport and are going to be committed to the work, go for it :biggrin:

Reply 15

Luke257

Hey,
I'm considering taking PE at A level but althougn I do a lot of Fitness traing at the gym and such, I am not necessarily good at any 'typical' sports, I'm good at rugby but am worried that most pther people are going to be insane players that play for clubs and stuff. I'm taking Human Biology, Chemistry and Psychology but am hung up on the decision to take PE or another academic subjuect. How much practical is done in this subject?
Thanks =]

Reply 16

AAfc

10

If your interested in it then do it. if you study biology/ psychology or both it will help your theory endlessly too. As far as the practical element it varies form 20-40% at AS but to be honest i found a lot of what we were doing a waste of time in the practical lessons but i am a qualified coach and football referee. If performing inst your thing don't stress, you can coach or officiate sports too so it wont be a huge disadvantage. Nevertheless its fun. Its a HUGE jump up from GCSE the biggest of all my subjects by far but achievable if you learn as you go along and have a good memory.
If you just want to run around I wouldn't recommend it. If sports science looks appealing to you definitely do it.
I did it as my fourth a level as a break from the other subjects but dont underestimate it otherwise it isnt an easy A grade
Oh and it helps you other subjects and revision technique too when you learn about memory and stuff :biggrin:

Reply 17

ahmada02

this may seem like a really early time to be asking, but alot of people have been asking me what i want to do later on, for a level and at the moment i'm really not sure. i want to do spanish, and maybe maths, but i'm not sure about p.e because it doesnt really link with the other two. i'm currently taking it for a GCSE and i really enjoy it, practical and theory. what i'm worried about is will it involve lots of science? i know it obviously involves biology but some people on here have said stuff about physics and chemistry, and to be honest i've never really enjoyed or understood chemistry, so would it be pointless if i were to take it on as an a level?

Reply 18

scabbywabby

PE A level is not an academically challenging course. Yes there are some aspects of physiology, psychology and history but not in any great depth. In the sense that theres not a whole lot of understanding but superficial memorising. For example in a2 exerscise physiology you learn about krebs cycle but compared to a2 human biology you have to really LEARN & UNDERSTAND it. People in my pe class dont even know what an ion or a hydrogen atom is but in my biology class people understand how the positive hydrogen atom is a proton etc. In biology we also learned about nutrition on the body like hypotonic/hypertonic drinks and how they have the same water potential as blood plasma but in PE we just had to memorise which sports events they're used for. PE is a good choice if your looking for a soft subject to drop after as but it shouldnt be one of your main 3 unless your applying for physiotherapy or some sports science related degree. It is however still an a level so you still need to be organised and on the ball throughout the year.

Reply 19

YingYang

Original post by scabbywabby

PE A level is not an academically challenging course. Yes there are some aspects of physiology, psychology and history but not in any great depth. In the sense that theres not a whole lot of understanding but superficial memorising. For example in a2 exerscise physiology you learn about krebs cycle but compared to a2 human biology you have to really LEARN & UNDERSTAND it. People in my pe class dont even know what an ion or a hydrogen atom is but in my biology class people understand how the positive hydrogen atom is a proton etc. In biology we also learned about nutrition on the body like hypotonic/hypertonic drinks and how they have the same water potential as blood plasma but in PE we just had to memorise which sports events they're used for. PE is a good choice if your looking for a soft subject to drop after as but it shouldnt be one of your main 3 unless your applying for physiotherapy or some sports science related degree. It is however still an a level so you still need to be organised and on the ball throughout the year.

Lol?

A level PE

Related discussions

Articles for you